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BACON’S BITS (OF WISDOM)
A Critical Reading of “The Four Idols”
W H Y B A C O N W R O T E “ T H E F O U R I D O L S ”
Prove Aristotelian logic wrong
Thought deductive logic produced error
MAIN RHETORICAL STRUCTURE
Enumeration
1. Idols of the Tribe
2. Idols of the Cave
3. Idols of the Marketplace
4. Idols of the Theater
Gives preview of each before going into detail
IDOLS OF THE TRIBE
Human nature to assume order
Emotion clouds objective reality
What makes us human limits understanding
Things unseen lead to superstition (spirits)
Nature is chaotic
Reminds me of Michael Shermer’s The Believing
Brain
IDOLS OF THE CAVE
Individual subjectivity clouds truth
Want something to be true, even though it is not
Deals with a person’s own interests/proclivities
Reminds me of the concept of “qualia”
Ramachandran discusses
IDOLS OF THE MARKETPLACE
Deals with language
Language can obscure meaning
Definition is important: “terrorist” for example
Cleave and cleave
Reminds me again of Socrates and Derrida
IDOLS OF THE THEATER
Traditional systems of thought that cloud truth
Religion
Faith
Superstition
Example: “Earth is the center of the universe.”
CRITICISM FOR “THE FOUR IDOLS”
Bacon never foresaw the hypothesis as a tool for
science
Deduction and induction can be used in
conjunction for greater effect
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you agree with Bacon?
2. What is an example of a current Idol of the Tribe?
3. What is an example of a current Idol of the Cave?
4. What is an example of a current Idol of the Marketplace?
5. What is an example of a current Idol of the Theater?
6. Do you feel that this has some relevance for your life?
7. How does this fit with what we have discussed with
Daytripper?
WHAT’S THE WARRANT
Bacon’s underlying assumption (warrant) in this
essay is that if people understand these four ways
that we may be distracted from objective
truth/reality, we can avoid moving away from truth
and, instead, move toward it.
F I N
I couldn’t resist adding a picture
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